St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-15
People in Otter Tail and Will
kin Counties Afflicted
With LepPosy.
& Fire at Winnipeg Tempo
rarily Shuts OF the
Gas Supply.
Ineendiaries Create a Tenn
porary Panic at Church
Ferry, Oak.
How Well Cooperation Sue
eeeds Among the Farm
eps of Dakota.

Special to the Globe.
FERGUS FALLS. Mimi, Dee. 1.-THE
supposed cases of leprosy in Otter Tail
and Wilkin counties have been thor
oughly Investigated, and the reports are
given as follows: Christopher kjOnO.
living five miles from Rothsay. in
Nilkin county, was born on the Island
Proven IL the Atlantic ocean. west Of
the city OF Trondhjem, Norway, and
followed the occupation of fisherman.
His mother died. but with no traces Of
the disease which atfiicts Christopher,
and which has slain his wife and one of
his brothers. Christ0pheT's father is
still alive. and is a healthy man and
Tree from the fearful disease. Christie
pher had no symptoms OF leprGSy until
about eighteen years Old. At that time
appeared the first traces of this malady.
Small. hard Jumps on his eyebrows
were the first symptoms. These went
away. but the hair in the eyebrows
dropped out From this time on the dis
ease, with frequent intervals of rest.
continued to take q iirmer hold upon
him until he became an inmate OF the
government hospital for lepers in
TrOHdhiem. At the age Of thirty. hay
ing an unusually long period OF immun-
itV from tine disease ana Supp0SinG mini
self healed. he left tie hospital, taking
with him young woman slightly af-
fccted with the disease and came TO
America. where he married the 'eprOSy-
stricken companion of his voyage, the
laws OF Norway fOrbidding such mar
TiageS. Although stOutly denied by the
KiOnO family. it appears upon the teSti-
- lao
ing her last illness and who are well ac
Guainted with the disease in its every
stage, that the woman died Of lcprOsy.
The greatest misfortune 10 the Han is
that whenever he receives a scratch, cut
OF wound
IT NEVER HEALS.
Aside from this his skin is perfectly
smooth The inrOadS of this form of
leproSy are to be seen III his iiattened
nose. Sunken mouth. hairless face and
head and destroyed palate. His fingers
are gone to the third joint. This he
claims was done by a circular saw in
Wisconsin saw mill. Not much ere
dence is given to ;hiS statement, as
other cases show the form of mutiIati0n
to be a result Of this disease. Chris
topher is All inmate of his brother
Anton kjOno's. house. He had no chill
dren of his own. In his brothers fam
lily are three bright little children.
Neither they nOr their parents show any
symptoms OF leproSy. Another brother
lives near by, and has family of five
children upon whom the leprOSy has yet
left 40 signs. Another brother aged
twenty died. He was also a fisher
man on the waters of TrOndhjem,
Norway. and died in the state hospital
from lcprOSy at TrOndhjem. In the
same hospital was another patient. who
lives twelve miles west OF Fergus Falls.
by the name of Bi0rgen Sjcldrup. He
is well known 10 the NOrwegians OF
this section. who refer to him when
asked to cite a case of ''Spidalsk" in its
last stages.
TIE STORY OF HIS CASE
is a repetition OF the case of Christie
pher KjOnO. The points of difference
are that his wife is still living and
shows no symptoms of leprosy; neither
does the child. About three years ago
the wife Of Hans Nelson. OF Otter Tail
county, died OF this disease. The
woman was the mother of three chill
dren. born after their mother was at
tackled by the lepr0sy. but the children
are perfectly free from the dread dis
ease. 1t is nowhere thought TO be con-
tagiOuS. 1t is only a matter of dispute
among jllOSe OF the lheulcai fraternity
who have seen the -Asiatic form and its
contagious character. People in Nor
way are not isolated. They are not
aVailed and when they are SO far adj
Vanced in this disease as to go to the
hospital their friends visit them and
have no fears of cOntagiOn. These pa
tients say they never heard of any cases
of leprOsy in this country which were
not contracted in Norway The eating
of fish they regard not as cause but
as an aggravatiOn of the disease. The
eating OF fish in the hospital is not al
lowed by the physicians.